


The Stairs

by aine_clover



Series: What if? GWTW [4]
Category: Gone With the Wind - All Media Types, Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22649437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aine_clover/pseuds/aine_clover
Summary: What if an argument with Ashley on the stairs had caused the fateful fall?
Relationships: Rhett Butler/Scarlett O'Hara, Scarlett O'Hara/Ashley Wilkes
Series: What if? GWTW [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624156
Comments: 14
Kudos: 143





	1. Chapter 1

Scarlett was so sick and tired of being sick and tired. 

She'd never carried well, and her fourth child was turning out to be much of the same. A heavy burden in her belly causing her to turn her face from food and rest. 

She hadn’t been to The Mill in days, unable to manage the buggy ride. Her stomach turned violently at the very thought of being bumped about, so instead, she had stayed at home and asked Ashley to manage it all, feigning a headache or some other indiscriminate illness. 

Ashley and Melly had been a constant during Rhett’s absence and watching them together, though initially dragging her into the depth of jealousy, had strangely caused a tender spot to grow in her heart. 

She would never say it aloud, no. No, this was a secret she’d take to the grave. A secret she thought worse than that of the time she was willing to sell herself mistress for Tara, or the bloody murder she had committed. 

She missed Rhett. 

She missed the way he made her laugh. The way his hands felt on hers. His lips on hers. She missed watching him with the children, the way Wade would stare up at him with warm delight at having such a manly-man take such a keen interest in him. When she knew she was pregnant, she felt a pang of upset that Rhett wasn’t there. He would be so excited to know a new baby was coming. 

There wasn’t a man alive that loved babies like Rhett Butler did. 

That warmness that he emanated with the children was that of undeniable love. There was no effort for Rhett. He loved Bonnie and Ella and Wade with palpable affection, the way he could hold them close and listen with thoughtful attention. 

Despite the depressions in their marriage, and his true cruelness, all was forgotten when she lay alone at night, her stomach growing slowly and her heart growing fonder. 

It was the first time she had truly been away from him and that distance and space made her eyes clearer. When she was young, and a bother plagued her, she would stand at the top of the hill at Tara and lookout. she always knew that it was the way the land stretched in front of her eyes that allowed her mind to unfurl. With this permission, the thoughts could spill out like smoke and swirl until they turned into pictures she could see. 

Every morning she looked out from the window on the grounds of her Peachtree Street home and tried to do the same. 

He was a good and warm father, but maybe he could be good and warm to her like he was the children. If she wanted the baby, well maybe he’d want her too. She felt silent relief when she realised she did want it. She was excited for the first time in her life, and embarrassingly, she was hopeful that Rhett would be pleased that she was excited. 

It was shameful to her, how affected she was by his praise and his kindness. In the way that Scarlett felt sixteen in front of Ashley Wilkes, the flood of memories burning through her, she felt the same excitement to have someone as knowledgeable and witty and successful of Rhett be proud of her. 

She considered calling on him. Sending a telegram or a messenger. 

But Scarlett who was immune to fear, could not find the courage. 

What if he ignored her? Or worse, responded with ambivalence or hatred as she had with Bonnie. What if he turned on her? Accused her of tricking him or trapping him? What if he kept Bonnie away, deciding they now had a baby each and that would be fair? Although she kept a candle burning deep in her most hidden desires that he would come back, she wasn’t sure what she would do if he didn’t.

It was Rhett’s baby, of course, but first and foremost, it was her baby. She had thought more and more of his words about Bonnie. “The first person who has complete belonged to me.” Maybe this baby could belong to her? She had already lost Wade and Ella to the effervescent charms of Rhett Butler, but this baby could be hers and hers alone.

So, she kept it to herself. She only told Mammy and Doctor Meade, both of whom she had sworn to secrecy. 

She had continued onwards as she always did, head held high, her mind focused and clear. She would think about the baby every day, of course, but she’d think about Rhett tomorrow. Tomorrow was another day. 

But on that day, it had not been Rhett who entered through the grand front door. 

It had been Ashley. 

She stared down stunned at the top of the stairs, heart racing in equal measures shock and thrill.

He stood, alone, in her home.

And Rhett was nowhere to be seen.

But all that disappeared from mind to see the love of her life stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at her with those blues and that blonde hair, his gentle figure the antipathies of the man she was married too. 

“Ashley,” she said, her voice taking on the soft feminine quietly it always did when she was in his presence. 

He walked the stairs to meet her, reaching halfway as she stood one stair above him, making them see eye to eye. 

“Ashley,” she said again, smiling prettily. “Why, I don’t know if I have ever seen you on your own in my house.”

She was silently thankful she had made herself dress that day. She wore an intricate dress, one that was a beautiful seafoam blue that lapped at the floor as she walked. The newest fashion from Paris, carefully concealing her ever-rounding belly. 

“Scarlett, we must talk,” he said earnestly, watching her tentatively.

“I’ll be back at the Mill soon Ashley,” she promised, her features softening, making her look ever so young and beautiful. “I’ve just been under the weather. Why I’ll go today if you need. Perhaps you can drive me over yourself?”

“No Scarlett,” he said, his spine straightening. “No… I… I need you to listen to me.” 

“Of course,” she said, lashes fluttering prettily. “Why Ashley, you know I always listen to you.” 

That was categorically untrue. She often did not listen to Ashley, choosing to ignore him almost entirely, particularly when it came to business. 

“I’ve been offered a job at the First National Bank of Atlanta,” he said, voice as firm as she had ever heard it. “And I am going to take it.”

She watched him, brows furrowing as she considered what he was saying.

“When will you have time for the Mill?” She asked, questioning him behind vivid emerald eyes. 

“I…” he began, striving to hold a firm tone once more. “I… won’t be working at the Mill. Or the store. I will simply give it back to you Scarlett.”

“Don’t be silly,” she scolded sweetly. “Why Ashley it’s called Kennedy and Wilkes, what will I call it if you go, Kennedy and no one?” 

“You can call it as you like,” he said softly, watching her closely. “I have so appreciated your kindness Miss Scarlett, but it is time for me to step out into the world on my own. Be the man I wish to be.” 

“Oh, fiddledeedee Ashley,” she admonished, anger beginning to spark in her as she tried to keep herself soft and inviting. “What nonsense. You were supposed to buy the whole mill from me! What am I to do, running all of it on my own now?”

“Well, I’m sure Captain Butler knows many fine businessmen-”

“Rhett Butler knows charlatans and scoundrels,” Scarlett interrupted sharply. “Why I have no idea if he is even coming back, and now you’re abandoning me too?” 

“I’m not abandoning you, my dear Scarlett,” Ashley said, his calm and controlled manner that was so attractive to Scarlett suddenly began to agitate her. She felt an irrational stab of resentment that he called her ‘dear’. That was Rhett’s word for her, not his. Furthermore, she realised that he was alone, not due to any feelings of romance or intimacy, but because he knew that Melly would not tolerate such nonsense. He had come alone because he couldn't stand up to his wife. Scarlett had let her lip twitch in disgust.

“I will be living on the same street, the children will still be friends,” he said, his voice soft as he reached out and took her hand in his. “We will still receive you at our home, but The Mill and The Store will belong to you Scarlett, undivided, as they always should have-”

“It’s turning a mighty profit,” she said, snubbing his explanation. “Do you wish for a higher percentage? I am happy to do this for you Ashley, I’d do anything for you, but you must just ask me-” 

“No,” Ashley said, interrupting her in his characteristically gentle tone. “No… Scarlett. I need to be my own man-”

“Well you will have to wait,” Scarlett interrupted impetuously at his news. “I’m having a baby, and I can’t be doing all of this on my own Ashley. Not in my condition.”

She thought a look of sadness crossed his face, but she wasn’t sure if she had imagined it or not.

He took a deep breath and observed her, eyes considerate and kind as always. 

“As is my Melly.”

Scarlett was silenced by such a declaration.

“Your Melly?” She repeated, blinking in surprise. “But Doctor Meade said no more babies.”

“God has chosen it,” Ashley assured her, voice smooth as honey as always. She felt like laughing at him but kept her mouth pursed. Of course, Ashley would thank God before he’d listen to Doctor Meade. “And babies are joyful, a fresh beginning. You understand, don’t you Scarlett? I need to be my own man before the baby comes, a new start. I need to regain my honour-” 

She let out a sharp and unkind laugh at that word, eyes narrowing. 

“You and your honour,” she said brusquely, the rush of rage she felt at him blindsiding her. “Why Ashley, what isn’t honourable about running an honest business with an old friend?”

“I need to be own man,” he said, ignoring her statement and tone. “Not accepting this charity Scarlett. It isn’t that I am not grateful. I am. And I will be here as you find new help, but I must move forward-” 

“What is honourable about leaving a woman in my position to manage all of this?” She interrupted as panic beginning to light in her chest. Rhett was gone, Ashley was gone, she had a flashed memory of standing alone in the fields of Tara, once again having to feed and keep everyone all alone. All alone again. 

“Now Scarlett,” he scolded softly as if admonishing a child. “Be reasonable-”

“You and your honour,” she murmured bitterly. Tears began to spark in her eyes, but she gulped them back. “This honour which would have seen us all lose Tara, living in the wilderness like rabid dogs, why Ashley your honour has caused me nothing but strife-”

“Scarlett,” Ashley said, looking fleetingly upset before resetting his face to a calm expression. “A man is nothing without his honour.”

“A man with honour wouldn’t have left his family to starve to death,” she interrupted. She wasn’t who was more shocked that she had said it, her or him. A flurry of rage hit her as she considered her life while he was at war. She had to till the fields, sow the cotton, feed everyone, pay the taxes. She had to do unthinkable things to keep his wife and his child alive, as well as her own and after all of that suffering, he still denied her, still turned her away. 

All because of Honour.

“Scarlett,” he began carefully, looking genuinely upset with her. He had seen this anger with India, Rhett, Frank and near everyone else in Atlanta, but he had never had it aimed at himself. He looked wounded. “I was away fighting, drawing blood of men.”

The gory image of the confederate soldier she had killed sprung to mind. The awful molasses of his blood, the biting guilt that gnawed at her over the years, the fear that one day they would dig up Tara and find his bones. 

“We all had to do unspeakable things,” She said coldly, the blackness that struck her eyes cowing him. 

He looked upon her with such melancholy that she had felt a stab of loathing for him. 

“You’ve become coarse because of it all Scarlett,” he said mournfully. “Because of the war, the hunger, because of….”

He trialled off, but she felt her eyes narrow.

“Because of what?” She said coldly, her temper swelling in her chest. 

“Because of Rhett Butler,” he said, looking at her with such pity she wanted to scratch his eyes out. 

“I had to turn to Rhett Butler because of you,” she answered, her green gaze filling with icy rage. “He was the one who saved us when Atlanta was burning. I had to grovel at his feet for that tax money and debase myself, and then he had to save your life when you so stupidly went to that shanty town-”

“Scarlett!” Ashley started, scandalised by how she talked so freely. 

“And I wouldn’t have even had to lay eyes on him if it weren’t for you!” She continued harshly. “If you had just proposed at Twelve Oaks, if you had run away to Mexico, if you had stood up to India, why every time I have coarsened myself with Rhett Butler, it’s because you were the guiding hand to him!” 

“Scarlett please, don’t speak like this,” he begged in a tone which suddenly sounded pathetic to her ears. 

“And he is the reason I will never go hungry again, that my folk, my children will be fed, your wife, your child have been fed. I’m no fool, I know he has no honour in what he does but what he does has kept us all alive!” She snarled. 

“I’m so grateful to yourself and Captain Butler, for what you’ve done for my Melly, my Beau,” Ashley attempted to correct but she hadn’t heard him as the blood rushed in her ears, deafening her to everything but her heart thundering in her chest. 

“You once said I was fearless, well I can assure you I am not,” she muttered violently. “I survived, that’s what I’ve always had to do, and Rhett Butler doesn’t see me as a coarse and cruel monster for it, in fact, he told me himself that that is what he likes about me!”

“Forgive me, Scarlett,” Ashley said, his hand still clasping her tight. “I didn’t mean to upset you-”

“You’ve made me angry!” She corrected. “You’ve vexed me, Ashley, as you always do, because your kindness is often so cruel!”

“I don’t think that is fair Scarlett,” Ashley said, frowning condescendingly at her. 

“Why, you comforted me only to let India sully me to our neighbours and folk. Your wife was the one who stood up for me!” She growled out, eyes feral as all the dark thoughts she had of him spilt from her mouth. 

“Melly is a wonderful wife, and a better friend Scarlett,” Ashley warned. “I don’t remember your Rhett Butler being much of a gentleman.”

“Of course you’d say that,” she scoffed. “You, you and your talk of Rhett, too jealous to keep your mouth shut, too cowardly to do anything about it!” 

“Scarlett!” Ashely shouted, silencing her diatribe. She blinked in surprise, the overwhelmed expression of his face suddenly repulsive to her. “You are a lady, you don’t speak like this!”

“I’m no lady,” she said spitefully. “Go to your job, go on, but know that I will never let you touch a penny of mine or Rhett’s, which you have gleefully taken despite your protests of honour, ever again!”

She saw a flicker of anger behind his cool eyes as she turned to storm up the stairs. 

It happened all in a split second. He tugged her hand to make her stay, to talk some sense into her, and she had slipped on the folded fabric of her extensive dress at the precise same time. The two had caused her feet to fall from beneath her, sliding on the jagged steps beneath. Her hand couldn’t reach for the bannister, caught instead by Ashley’s grip. She had stumbled, losing her footing on the edge of the stairs, the fabric like ice beneath her shoes. She fell backwards, and his hand had slipped from her skin. His blue eyes burning panic was the last thing she saw before as she twirled with sickening thuds down the long staircase, lying motionless at the foot of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhett wasn’t exactly happy to be back from Charleston. 

Bonnie was. She had chattered insistently, aggressively stroking the poor kitten his mother had given her. 

“Mama” this and “mama” that. Despite his best efforts to make her the finest daddy’s girl the south had ever seen, Bonnie still thought only of Scarlett. Scarlett, who couldn’t nurse a cold, let alone a child, somehow held such strong attachment to Bonnie’s heart that Bonnie screamed endlessly at night without her. He was many things and one of them certainly was cruel, but he wasn’t cruel enough to let his only daughter suffer from such debilitating nightmares. 

“Yes yes sweetheart,” he soothed as the carriage thundered through Atlanta. He bounced her on his knee. “You’ll see Mama soon.”

He hadn’t heard the rest of what she said. All inane, brightly spoken prose about what she would tell her ‘pretty’ mama. Scarlett was pretty, but he didn’t want to hear that from Bonnie. He didn’t want to hear it from anyone. The little girl had become fixated on discussing in flowery parlance how beautiful her mother was. He had caught his own mother prompting Bonnie several times in Charleston to speak on Scarlett and it was always the same. ‘Beautiful, pretty, perfect mama’. How it burned him. He knew it was an indisputable fact, but Scarlett O'Hara's perfect face made her so much harder to hate. 

He’d have stayed away longer if it were up to him. Maybe even forever. His heart ached over Ella and Wade, particularly Wade who had come to be like a son to him, but he couldn’t stare at the face of the bewitching and caustic woman any longer. He knew women were cunning and clever but he had never known one like Scarlett. He was going mad with jealousy and the way he had lost himself in drink and her before he had left had shaken him to his soul. He was the master of his world, but under those green eyes, he could barely take a breath without feeling his blood boil and his heartbreak. He glanced Bonnie as his thoughts swirled, noting she was now explaining her plans to the kitten who blinked tiredly at her advice. He wouldn’t have Bonnie without Scarlett. Yes, he was poisoned by her, Belle was right, but a child was worth ten of the mother. 

They arrived at the Peachtree Street abode and before he could snatch her, Bonnie streaked ahead, squealing ‘Mama! Mama!’ as she went. Rhett was slower, moving at a slow if not troubled pace to the mansion he knew he should consider ‘home’. 

The gardens were immaculate, and he bitterly thought that at least Scarlett could keep up appearances while he was gone.

The scene that met him on the porch, however, was not the one he expected. Mammy was holding the wriggling Bonnie, shushing her, as Wade sat on the steps with Ella, his arm wrapped around the weeping girl. 

“Shush now Miss Bonnie,” Mammy said affectionately, her face looking exhausted. “We all missed you, you’ll see your mama in a minute.” 

“I want her now!” Bonnie demanded and Rhett watched Ella burst into fresh tears, head in her hands as Wade rubbed circles to her back. 

“Mammy,” Rhett said reproachfully, flashing one of his famously charming smile at the old woman. “My Bonnie wants to see her mother, I hope you won't deny her?”

Mammy said nothing for a long moment. "Captain Butler," she began but Wade interrupted her.

“Mother is sick, Sir,” he said, his eyes sharp and face hostile. 

“Oh?” Rhett said, smirking as he contemplated the cold that Scarlett would be dramatic enough to pretend was cholera. “Too sick to see her Bonnie Blue?” 

Ella began to weep again and Wade nodded stoically, his eyes burning hatefully against Rhett. Rhett felt his stomach turn, finding the unfamiliar situation of being the most ignorant in the room deeply unsettling. 

“Mammy,” Rhett said, trying to keep his voice calm and light. “Why don’t you bring Ella and Bonnie inside. Bonnie, have something to eat first, so you’re strong enough to tell your mother everything.”

Bonnie reluctantly nodded while Ella stood shakily, her hand wrapped in Mammy’s skirt as Mammy rested her hand atop the girls head, guiding them both inside. Rhett stood over Wade who glared down at the steps below, unable to bring his gaze up to his step-father. 

“What happened Wade?” Rhett asked, his voice light and controlled. “Why is your mother sick?”

“She had a fall, sir,” Wade said, his voice tight. “Down the stairs.” 

Rhett felt his face pale, the imagined picture of slight Scarlett twisting down the long, red stairs a sickening image. 

“And who is taking care of her?” Rhett asked, his voice suddenly serious. He felt his shoulders square as the facts of the matter began to swing into place, the cold rage of wade and tear the soaked face of Ella gaining context.

“Aunt Melly, Great Aunt Pittypat, Doctor Meade and Mrs Meade, Prissy, Mammy, Aunt India,” Wade listed, eyes still low. “They have to take turns staying with her. They’ve even called for Aunt Suellen and Aunt Carreen.” 

The boy was always so observant. Rhett felt an uncomfortable tug. He hoped Wade hadn’t been so attentive with him while he lived beneath the roof of the Peachtree Street home. 

“What about Uncle Ashley?” Rhett asked, his voice light, as he let out the question. He hated himself for wanting to know, for jealousy still eating at him despite the furious child in front of him. 

“Mammy won’t let him in the house,” Wade said, his voice taught as he clenched his fists against his trousers. "Mama cursed him in her sleep."

“Your Uncle Ashley?” Rhett asked, unable to keep the surprise from his tone. Wade nodded stiffly. “Heavens Wade, why?”

“Because Mama and Uncle Ashley had an argument,” Wade said, his voice cold and furious. “On the stairs, and he tugged her hand to make her come back, and she tripped.” 

Rhett couldn’t comprehend it, staring down at the boy in absolute shock. 

“How do you know that?” Rhett asked, trying to stay calm for the child’s sake.

“Because I saw it,” Wade said quietly, sounding ashamed and hateful. “I was sneaking. I saw it. I ran and got help.” 

“What was the argument about?” Rhett asked, too desperate to know to comfort the child.

“Uncle Ashley wants to leave Mama to do all the work, sir. They were fighting about you, Uncle Rhett,” he said. He saw Wade’s fists begin to shake in his lap. “Mother said that you always take care of us.” 

“Well…” Rhett began, but his words uncharacteristically failed him, shocked at the answer. Scarlett, defending him, to Ashley Wilkes? 

“But you don’t,” Wade said, his voice cracking. 

Rhett blinked, the boy's harsh words breaking through the fog of shock. Rhett slowly sat next to the boy who still did not look at him. 

“Now now Wade,” Rhett said calmly, finally recognising the distress eating away at the little man in front of him. “I would never let you or your mother go hungry, I’ll always make sure you’re safe and well.” 

“But she isn’t well,” Wade ground out, his jaw setting as he spoke. The hateful expression he took spoke so strongly of Scarlett Rhett would have laughed if humour could be summoned. 

“But she will be again,” Rhett said reassuringly, his large hand putting Wade on the back. “As will all of you children.”

“No,” Wade said, his voice sounding painfully tight. “Not all of us.”

“What do you mean, Wade?” Rhett said calmly, finding the little boys anger almost funny for a moment. Children took everything so literally and so personally. 

“Mama was going to have a baby,” Wade muttered tightly, tears springing to his eyes. “And now it’s gone.”

There was a horrified silence between the two, Rhett staring down at Wade whose whole body quaked with grief and fear and pain and distress.

“A baby?” Rhett said almost soundlessly. 

“She told Uncle Ashley,” Wade whispered, his voice tight as his entire body shivered. “You left her with your baby, and then you were gone. And he was going to leave her too. Everyone always leaves us.” 

Rhett stared silently, the full horror of what he was hearing scratching deeply into his mind. 

Wade turned an agonised look up to Rhett, tears rushing down his face. 

“You told me to take care of her, Sir,” he choked out. “And I let you down. I let uncle Ashley Hurt her. I let him hurt the baby.” 

Rhett crushed Wade to him without thought, wrapping his arms tightly around the little boy who froze before clinging to him, sobbing endlessly against his coat.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Wade,” Rhett said, his voice tight as he tried to keep emotion from it. The boy didn’t need to comfort him too. He had carried enough. “Not a thing. You took great care of your mother, you are the one that got help. Now you’re taking care of Ella too. My, you’re a wonderful young man. Uncle Ashley and I are the ones who need to be sorry. Not you. Never you.” 

Wade nodded against him, wailing as he recounted the horror of his mother’s fall in his own mind. She had looked dead as she lay there and he was convinced all the way up until Doctor Meade told him otherwise that she was. He was convinced he was orphaned, and he would be forced to live with the man who had killed his mother. That Uncle Rhett would never ever come back. 

“I’m here now,” Rhett murmured, pressing his cheek to the top of the boys head. He used himself to crowd Wade, hoping the movement would at least give the boy some comfort and affection. “I’m going to take care of her. Of everyone. You don’t need to worry anymore Wade.” 

Wade nodded weakly once more and Rhett sat with him in silence, Wade’s tears soaking against his coat. Rhett wanted to run to her, to see it himself, but as the boy shivered against him he knew he had to soothe him first. Wade was right, this predicament had only happened because he wasn’t there. 

“She keeps calling for you,” Wade wept brokenly, muffled against Rhett's chest.

“What?” Rhett asked in confusion, moving the boy so he could see his face. 

“Mama keeps calling for you,” Wade sniffled, devastation pressed to his features. “And aunt Melly tried to write to you, telegram you, but we couldn’t get you! What if you never came back, what if mama dies!” 

Rhett felt his blood run cold, realising he would have already been on the journey, unreachable. He was soundless in response. He saw the fear and fire and fury burn bright in Wade’s gaze, his body shivering beneath Rhett’s enormous grip. 

“You should have stayed!” Wade shouted, his words gaining volume at each syllable. “You’re so much bigger than Uncle Ashley, he could have never of hurt her, you would have stopped him-”

“That’s enough,” Rhett interrupted, his voice harsher then he meant it too. “I’m here now. That’s enough.” 

Wade pushed himself away from Rhett and sniffled, the grief on the little boys face so palpable that Rhett felt like crying too. He instead carefully handed Wade a handkerchief, watching gently as the boy cleaned himself up. 

“You can say this nonsense to me,” Rhett said, his voice soft but serious. “No one else. Do you understand? This has to be our secret.”

The boy nodded weakly. 

“Where is your mother?” Rhett asked, trying to keep his composure behind a stoic expression.

“Her room, sir,” Wade sniffled.

Rhett held the boy once last time before leaving, ascending the dreadful stairs as his feet carried him towards his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

Aunt Pittypat had barricaded the door as he attempted to enter the living quarters of his and Scarlett’s rooms. He had glared down at her, forgetting altogether the urge to maintain his appearance of a quaint southern gentleman. He would burn down Atlanta all over again if it meant he could get to Scarlett. 

“Let me in,” he enunciated darkly.

“Captain Butler,” she wailed, theatrically throwing the handkerchief to her face. “You don’t understand, she’s delirious!” 

Rhett opened his mouth but the soft voice behind him silenced him.

“Captain Butler.”

There behind him stood Miss Melly, a pot of water in hand, clean cloth laid atop the rim of it.

“Captain Butler,” she spoke, her voice weak and her face pale. “You’re back. Did you get my message?”

“No,” he said, trying to keep the quiver of rage from his tongue. “Wade told me.”

There was a deafening silence between them all and he spotted India quietly hovering behind Melly, a fresh chemise in her grip, and a look of panic pressed to her face. He imagined he looked terrifying to these meek women. Dishevelled and devilish, his dark eyes and darker heart on full display. These women weren’t like his Scarlett, who was all fight and spit and strength. At that moment he despised them all for it. 

'Good', he thought bitterly. 'Let them see the monster that their Scarlett has had to tolerate all these years. Let them see him, let them fear him.'

“I’m so sorry Captain Butler,” Melly whispered, tears beginning to sparkle in her eyes. The anger dissipated from him in a flush and he felt the quiver of terror run up his spine once more. 

‘It isn’t their fault’, Rhett repeated to himself silently, desperately trying to remain calm. ‘They aren’t responsible for Ashley Wilkes’ sins.’ 

“Is she alive?” Rhett asked, looking only to Melly as he spoke. 

She nodded weakly. 

“She’s in pain. She broke her ribs, and she isn’t talking straight… but Doctor Meade assures us she’s on the mend,” Melly said softly, her composure trembling under the enormous guilt he could see her burdened with. 

Rhett took her in and walked to India, snatching the chemise from her. She startled, looking up at his tall figure in fright.

“I’d like to speak to Mrs Wilkes alone,” he said firmly, his eyes never leaving Melly. He could hear Aunt Pittypat attempt to argue, but at the smallest shake of Melly’s head, the women left, leaving him alone with her.

“Let me take that,” Rhett said softly, his hands reaching out and moving the warm water from her hands, leaving it to rest on the sideboard. 

“Wade told you,” Melly repeated, eyes sparkling as she stared up at his imposing figure.

“Yes,” he said.

“He’s just a boy, he should have never had to see it,” Melly whispered, the first tear running her cheek, cutting down her pale skin. “Oh, Rhett… I… I’m so sorry…”

“It’s not your fault,” he said simply. He wanted to lash out. He wanted to break things and wreak havoc. The younger man in him wanted to roar and shout and scare everyone from the house but the older man, the husband, the friend, the father, wanted to assure her that everything stayed as calm as possible for his wife laid in the room next door. 

Scarlett could not heal in a storm. 

“I would have never…” Melly begun, swallowing thickly. “I would have… I wouldn’t have let Ashley come here and speak to her that way. He shouldn’t have… I…”

She trailed off, her tears falling too swiftly for her to speak. 

Rhett handed her his handkerchief and she took it, looking up as a sign of a timid thank you. 

“What is the water for?” Rhett asked. Melly glanced it, taking a shaky breath in.

“To keep her comfortable,” she said weakly. “She’s in tremendous pain.”

Rhett nodded, the clawing fear running up his spine that his Scarlett was secretly laid out dead in the room next door. 

“I’ll do it,” he said. 

“Captain Butler-”

“She’s my wife,” he said calmly, tears threatening to fall from his gaze. “I should have been here. I should have taken care of her. I need to do this Miss Melly.” 

She tentatively nodded, swallowing thickly once more. 

“Their silly fight about the Mill wasn’t worth the baby,” Melly said, sounding as though she were confessing her sins to Saint Peter himself. “I… oh Rhett I won’t ever forgive myself for letting this happen.”

“Neither will I,” he said starkly, the will to fight running out of him in the face of such pure contrition and agony painted across Melly’s gaze. He had his burden to bear, his stones to carry. He wouldn’t let Melly lash herself to death with all of that repentance. He picked up the water and walked to her room, softly opening the ajar door with his foot to see his wife laid in her bed. She was still, her hands curled as the rested above her head atop her dark hair. She was asleep as far as he could tell, and the small rise and fall of her chest sent a shiver of relief right through him. He knew Melly would be waiting patiently in the other room, her gleaming and devastated conscience unable to leave him to such a sight. He felt a stab of pity for her. Pity that she would be attached to a man like Ashley Wilkes. The rush of rage that burnt through him nearly caused him to roar aloud. He would kill Ashley if he saw him, he knew that, and he feared Miss Melly knew that too. Perhaps that is why she would dutifully wait, not only to protect the woman she loved like a sister but to protect her husband from Rhett Butler’s swift and merciless justice.

The whimper that left Scarlett snapped his thoughts away, leaving nothing but her in his mind. She whimpered once more and he felt his heart tear as the word left her mouth.

“Rhett,” she whispered in her rest, a small sob leaving her. She wept, her hand weakly trailing down her to her ribs, her head shaking from side to side as tears stained her eyelashes. 

“Scarlett?" he said softly, moving to place the water by her bed, kneeling and taking her hand in his. Her grip was limp and he saw the pain flutter her face, tears running into the dark hair hallowing her head. 

“I want Rhett,” she mewled. 

“I’m here, oh Scarlett, I’m right here” he murmured. He leant down and kissed her fingers, squeezing them in his hands. 

“It’s no use,” she keened. “It’s no use." 

A tiny sob left her as he ran his hand across her hair, his lips kissing her forehead.

“Oh Scarlett,” he murmured, feeling the tears burn in his eyes. He hated the ugly part of him that celebrated that she was calling his name. In her weakest state, with no viciousness to hide behind, no cruel and crushing remarks to levy at him, she wept for him and only him. His heart had stuttered with excitement and he had felt beastly for it. 

“She’s quite delirious,” Melly called unobtrusively. He glanced back to see her also tearstained in the doorway. He nodded weakly, letting out a gruff cough in an attempt to keep his emotions in check. 

Melly walked passed and soaked the linen strip, handing it to him.

“Place it on her forehead,” she directed. He did so and it soothed his wife, if only ever so slightly. His beautiful Scarlett looked weaker and more fragile than he had ever seen her. His Scarlet who had fought the Yankees, who saved Tara with her bare hands, who had dragged two children out of poverty and into wealth all by herself with not a man to help her. His Scarlett, the mother of his living child, of his lost child. 

His Scarlett. 

The words rang in his mind and he felt the tears run down his face without permission. 

“Oh Captain Butler,” Melly said, her hands coming to softly rest on his shoulders. She bent over him the way a mother does, her cheek resting atop his head as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, palms pressed to his heart as she cradled him to her. He let the sob come as she held him, unable to manage the grief and guilt at that moment.

“I should have been here,” he said, his voice thick with distress. “My jealousy caused all of this. She didn’t feel she could even tell me… because she knew what I would do… what I would say… It’s my fault.”

“You mustn’t blame yourself, Captain Butler,” she murmured. He could feel her tears mingle with his hair. He wanted to blame Ashley, but he knew he couldn’t entirely. The man was trying to detangle himself after all, and although Rhett thought him nothing more than a snivelling coward, he knew better than anyone that Ashley, so bound up with his needs to be a gentleman, his honour, would have never harmed Scarlett on purpose. 

“She will be fine, won’t she Miss Melly?” He asked quietly. Melanie nodded, and he softly raised her hand to his lips, kissing it.

“Thank you for all you’ve done for me… and for Scarlett… from my heart I thank you,” he murmured. She nodded weakly above him. 

They had stood there, in a vigil for their darling Scarlett, well into the dark night.


	4. Chapter 4

He wanted to stay with her, but Bonnie’s wailing forced him to once again abandon his wife. 

He had ended up in the nursery for hours, Bonnie and Ella falling asleep in his arms, staining his finery with their tears, as Wade pretended to read quietly in the corner. 

He had no words for the angry and terrified boy. He instead had waited patiently till the girls were surely asleep and Wade had finally exhausted himself and fallen asleep over his book. He’d carefully laid the girls down before lifting Wade and placing him in his bed, tucking the little boy tightly in with the warm and soft blankets.

Rhett had to grow up so quickly at his age. A drunk and angry father and an oppressed mother had left Rhett in the violence of a lost youth. He felt a stab of guilt that he had done such damage to the young boy. History repeating itself, Rhett the unwitting writer. 

He had stolen away in the dining room, drinking himself to oblivion until he passed out against the oak table top. 

Mammy had woken him up while cleaning up his mess. 

“Mammy?” he had muttered quietly. His voice was groggy, his mouth dry and sore. His bones ached under his skin, but he felt a wince of guilt for considering his own pain at all, when he knew his wife was cracked and bruised and burdened with grief, laying in pain just above his head.

“She’s much better this morning Captain Butler,” Mammy said. “She ain’t as hot and she is making sense when she’s talking. I sent the children to Aunt Pittypat’s so they ain’t in the way.” 

“Thank you, Mammy,” he said gruffly, his heart swelling with affection. She had thought of everything in her sentence, soothing him and unburdening him in one smooth move. He watched her and heard the rustle of her petticoat and a small smile caught his grief-struck expression. He had always liked and respected Mammy, but now he thought he may actually love her. 

“Is it true that you won’t let Ashley in the house?” He asked, remembering Wade’s sobbed confessions. 

“Mm-hmm Sir,” Mammy responded, a harder quality taking her matronly face. 

“I’ve never heard of a Mammy banishing a gentleman,” Rhett chuckled darkly.

“Ashley Wilkes is a gentleman, but he ain’t no good for our Scarlett,” she muttered, her face darkening dramatically. “You’re good for her Mister Rhett.”

Rhett almost shook his head but held himself back, instead offering a soft thank you.

He ascended the stairs once more, unwelcoming imagining of her fall blinding his mind. He shook them away, exhausted and hungover and stiff from sleeping atop the table. He paused at the soft feminine voices emanating from the room. 

At first, he couldn’t hear it, just the tones, but as he edged forward he realised it was Scarlett and Melly speaking. 

“Rhett?” Scarlett whispered, voice hoarse from disuse. He paused, her voice trembling with emotion.

“Yes Scarlett,” He heard Melly soothe. “He’s back, he’s brought, Bonnie.” 

He awaited her to weep with relief but the coldness in her voice froze him.

“He can’t be here,” he heard her say, the finality in her voice wounding.

“He’s your husband,” Melly softly laughed, her voice kind and warm. “He needs to be here-”

“He wants to divorce me,” Scarlett interrupted, her voice still icy. “He told me so Melly.” 

Rhett gritted his jaw at the memory of telling her with cool disregard that they should divorce. He had said it in the same tone of ‘should we eat dinner on the porch?’. He shouldn’t have said those things to her. That had been his last words to her all those months ago, while his tiny baby was growing in her at the time. It bristled him to think those were the last words his child would have heard, even if it hadn’t actually heard them. A hateful diatribe was thrown at its mother, at his wife. Driven by rejection and jealousy and pain. 

“He loves you more than you know Scarlett,” Melly attempted to calm but a harsh laugh mixed with tears interrupted her. 

“But he hates me,” Scarlett scoffed, her voice softening. She let out another mirthless laugh. “He does, he tells me with his words and his ways. He thinks I’m a terrible mother and he was right. I can’t even keep a baby in my belly-”

“Scarlett,” Melly interrupted gently. “Oh, my darling Scarlett, you mustn’t think these things.” 

There was a lull of silence, but he could hear her sniffling, sure she was stained with tears.

“I wanted it,” she whispered. He felt his heartbreak and he pressed his closed fist to his lips to hold the sound of pain inside him.

“Oh Scarlett,” Melly said softly. He heard the rustle of material and he peeked around the ajar door. Melly had sat on the bed, holding Scarlett against her. Scarlett looked weak and limp as she slumped against Melly, but her eyes were clear. Tears soaked her face, but she was soundless in her grief and Scarlett clung to Melly, her head pushed to Melly’s breast. 

“He’s going to hate me, Melly,” she whispered. “I missed him, and he will hate me. He’s right about me-”

“He won’t hate you,” Melly whispered. 

“He will,” Scarlett interrupted, her voice weak but her tone firm. “He thinks I’m a monster. He thinks I’m cruel and loveless and he is right-”

“No, you aren’t Scarlett,” Melly whispered, softly stroking her friend's hair as she cradled her, lips pressing to Scarlett’s crown. “All you’ve done for me, for Beau, for everyone, you are not any of these things…” 

“He is right,” Scarlett said softly, ignoring Melly. He watched her blink at her tears. “I lost our baby-”

“Oh Scarlett,” Melly murmured. “There will be other babies.” 

She shook her head, tears tumbling down her face in steady streams.

“The only baby I ever wanted was his,” she said with a fresh mirthless laugh, her voice cracking under the weight of grief. “And it’s gone.. and he’ll be gone.”

Her words burnt him to his core. 

‘The only baby I ever wanted was his’. 

Something he never thought he’d hear her say, yet she lay in Melly’s arms professing it as a desperate prayer. Wade’s words echoed through hers and Rhett felt his heart crack. 

He moved without thought as he pushed the door open and walked forward. 

She froze under the sound, eyes wide as he walked towards her. He knew she had never in all her years seen him look so dishevelled. His eyes were red, his hair a limp mess, his clothes a mess. He gave her a watery and warm smile.

“Mrs Butler,” he said softly, his voice as loving as he could possibly make it. She watched him anxiously as he stood above her. He saw her wait for the cruel comment or the final blow, but none came. She watched him the way that a fox cornered on a hunt looks. Terrified and vicious and bloodied. He noted the way her body curved in to protect itself from further harm. He had no one but himself to blame, but it hurt him never the less. 

“Scarlett,” he said softly. “I’ve missed you.” 

The sob tore through her, her entire body trembling violently. 

“I’m so sorry!” She cried out, sounding as broken as the boy he had held yesterday. “Rhett! I’m so sorry!” 

“Shush Scarlett,” he soothed, he rushed forward and sat in front of her. She was crowded by Melly and himself as Melly held her weak body up and Rhett’s hands came to worry her face. 

“I lost the baby, I lost it, I’m so sorry-” she heaved, her palms pushing against him as he attempted to sweep her into his grasp. 

“That isn’t your fault Scarlett,” he murmured, trying to keep his voice even and calm. 

“Stupid Ashley, woodenheaded Ashley,” she cursed, her sobs wracking through her pained body. One hand pushed him at his jaw, the other grasped to the collar of his shirt. Melly continued to hold to her, softly trying to calm her oldest friend.

“It’s ok,” Rhett repeated, seeing red for only a second before snuffing the flame. He would think about Ashley tomorrow. He needed to be calm for her, strong for her. He felt a stab of love and respect that Melly was there, adoring Scarlett. Taking care of her when he hadn’t. 

“I want it,” she heaved. “I wanted the baby Rhett, and it’s gone, and I want it back, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”

She became so distressed that she simply couldn’t continue, shattered by the grief rolling inside of her. He cuddled her close as she collapsed against his chest. Melly sat on the bed still, her hand still worrying Scarlett’s hair. His lips pressing to Scarlett’s temple as he shushed her like a child. She sobbed and sobbed, her fingers digging in so hard to his arms that it hurt him. 

“It’s ok, Scarlett,” he whispered against her hair. She shook her head, her palms suddenly pushing weakly at him once more. 

“You’ll divorce me now,” she wept weakly, sounding angry and pained and broken. “You wanted me gone before, you hated me then, and now I can’t even keep one of your babies, you’ll take Bonnie and go back to Charleston.”

He pushed her back and held her by her shoulders. She weakly stared up, lips trembling as tears clouded her vision. She blinked weakly at them, a fresh sob hiccuping over her lips.

“I don’t want to divorce you, Scarlett,” he murmured, making sure his eyes were earnest. He saw her search for a cruel joke, a jest, lips trembling and chest heaving. 

“But you hate me,” she whispered as her head fell forward, fresh tears dragging down her cheeks. She said it was such certainty that he felt like crying all over again. 

“Scarlett enough,” he interrupted firmly. “You fell… it was an… an accident. A terrible one which will leave a black mark on my heart for the rest of my life. But not one on you. No, not you Scarlett. You’re not to blame-”

“Ashley is,” she whispered heatedly, tears streaming down her face. He saw Melly wince.

He shushed her. He wanted to hear it. He did. He had waited years to hear her say it, but he knew deep down that it wasn’t right. He needed to her to focus on getting better, on healing and becoming healthy once more.

He owed it to Melly. 

“It was a terrible accident,” he told her once more, holding her face, gently brushing the tears away with his thumb. “No one is to blame for something like that. I would never blame you for that Scarlett.”

She stared up, but he saw the distrust in her eyes.

“Will you ever be able to forgive me?” He asked quietly. She stared in confusion, brows furrowing. 

“For what Rhett?” She asked. 

“For taking Bonnie, for hurling such hurtful words at you,” he confessed, his face suddenly looking distressed despite his attempts to hold a firm mask in place. “For my jealousy. For leaving you alone, for not protecting you and our child-” 

“Rhett you’re being silly,” she interrupted.

Melly stood and left without words, leaving the two of them in the intimacy they so desperately needed. That they had been chasing for years and years, but neither of them willing to come to the table. 

Rhett heard the door close behind him before he answered Scarlett’s interruption.

“I have been silly,” he said with a watery smile, hand coming to brush back her hair once more. “Scarlett, I have been so silly. I’ve been a fool.” 

“I am a fool forever loving him, Rhett. He is a coward and a fool and I am too for ever thinking I could love him-”

“Scarlett you don’t need to-”

“You’ve always taken care of us,” she interrupted with a hiccough. “You love me even though I’ll go straight to the devil, and you’ve always loved me, you’ve always loved the children as your own and you may be a devil Rhett, but you were never a devil to me-”

“That’s not true Scarlett,” he said with a shake of his head. A rush of all the cruel things he had ever done to her overwhelmed him, but he held his face calm and cool, trying to be a comforting force in the storm. 

“Because I’m a fool our baby is gone-”

“Scarlett,” Rhett whispered, trying not to cry once more. “I will not stand to hear you say something like this ever again. It was an accident.”

“But Rhett-”

“But nothing,” he uttered, watching those brilliant but devested green eyes. “I can’t bare you to blame yourself, Scarlett. I cannot. I will not.”

She nodded softly, licking her trembling lips as she slumped in his grip.

“When are you going?” She asked softly. 

He laughed aloud at the question. 

“Where would I be going?” He laughed, smiling warmly at her, his gaze watery but his expression sweet. “I’m staying here with my wife, Scarlett. I’m staying where I need to be. Where I should have been.” 

She nodded softly once more. He lay down and dragged her down with him, pulling her to curl against his side as her head lay on his chest, fingers digging into his clothing as though afraid he may drift away. 

“I love you, Mrs Butler,” he murmured. There was a long silence as her fingers delved deeper against him. 

“I love you too,” she whispered. He laughed, glancing down as she looked up sheepishly. He turned quickly so he lay face to face with her, smiling softly as he cupped her face. 

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me Rhett, you awful cad-”

His laughter interrupted her as she blushed and glared, hands weakly pushing against him. 

“I never thought I’d hear those words from you,” he said, smiling as he kissed her forehead. “Thank you, Scarlett.”

“You’re welcome,” she said unsurely, eyeing him suspiciously. He laughed once more and dragged her close to him. She stiffened for a split second before cuddling him close, his hands pressed to her as he held her in a way he never thought she’d let him. 

He let his grief subside for a brief second as he held her, his body aching and his heart broken, but he was sure in that tiny moment that he had never been happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! :)


End file.
